# Kane Lanark — Short Fiction character guide > Kane Lanark in Short Fiction by Manly Wade Wellman. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Lieutenant Kane Lanark, Lanark, The older Lanark, Kane, Lieutenant Lanark, Mr. Lanark, Captain Kane Lanark **First appearance:** 0001-the-invading-asteroid ## Snapshot A Union cavalry officer whose Maryland upbringing and VMI education collide with Quantrill's guerrillas, forging a scout who hunts the raider with personal fury. ## Who they are Lanark enlisted only after Quantrill's men robbed him on the Kansas border, and he rose from elected sergeant to lieutenant by rallying a panicked patrol his commander abandoned. He carries Confederate sympathies into a Union uniform, a contradiction he never quite resolves, and his hunger to saber Quantrill personally drives him past caution. When General Curtis hands him twenty picked riders, that private vendetta becomes the story's engine, steering the patrol toward the trough-like valley where the raider waits. ## In the story ### [The Invading Asteroid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/the-invading-asteroid) Observes the asteroid's trajectory and suspects artificial guidance. ### [Fearful Rock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/fearful-rock) Central figure in the unfolding supernatural events. ### [II: The Cavalry Patrol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/ii-the-cavalry-patrol) Union cavalry lieutenant leading a patrol against Quantrill; described as having a strange and vicious heritage, educated at VMI, and bearing a personal grudge against Quantrill. ### [III: The Image in the Cellar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/iii-the-image-in-the-cellar) The Federal officer who discovers Enid Mandifer, interrogates her, and later investigates the cellar image with Jager. ### [IV: The Mandifers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/iv-the-mandifers) Commands the Union soldiers; confronts Persil Mandifer and orders his arrest; protects Enid Mandifer. ### [V: Blood in the Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/v-blood-in-the-night) Leads the Union troops, fights in the battle, kills a guerrilla, and later conducts burial rites. ### [Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/vi-return) Returns to Fearful Rock in 1866, now a civilian after the war, bearing a scar and a limp from a skirmish. He seeks out Enid Mandifer to fulfill a promise. ### [VII: The Rock Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/vii-the-rock-again) Returns to Persil Mandifer's house, speaks with Enid, and later rides toward Fearful Rock. ### [VIII: The Grapple by the Grave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/viii-the-grapple-by-the-grave) Returns to the grave site, discovers empty skins, fights the reanimated corpse of a man he killed, and is protected by Jager's Long Lost Friend. ### [IX: Debate and Decision](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/ix-debate-and-decision) Seeks Jager's help after a demonic attack; receives a protective charm and regains his composure. ### [X: Enid Mandifer Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/x-enid-mandifer-again) Visits Enid Mandifer with Jager, interprets the reversed writing, and sees the message as a challenge. ### [XI: Return of the Sacrifice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/xi-return-of-the-sacrifice) Accompanies Enid Mandifer to the clearing, armed with a revolver and Jager's saber, and fires at a dark presence. ### [XII: Jager](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/xii-jager) Mentioned as having written the memoir on which the narrative is based; Jager hears a shot and a yell that sounds like Lanark. ### [XIII: Lanark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/xiii-lanark) Protagonist; a brave and pragmatic Union captain who faces undead guerrillas and discovers conventional weapons cannot stop them. ### [XIV: Enid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/xiv-enid) Fights off attackers with saber and revolver; found poised above a hole at Fearful Rock. ### [Evil's End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/xv-evil-s-end) Retrieves the box of secret writing from the ruins, destroys its contents, and reflects on the end of the evil. ### [Warrior of Two Worlds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/chapters/warrior-of-two-worlds) Central figure possibly embodying the warrior of two worlds. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/characters/lieutenant_kane_lanark - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_37_se/characters